


Tracing Her Way Through the Constellations

by parallelanprincess



Series: What Is A Legacy? (Monster High, You Sent For Me) [6]
Category: Monster High
Genre: Anachronistic, Bad Parenting, Deuce Is Best Bro, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Identity Issues, Post Boo York, Temporary Amnesia, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 03:58:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11912751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parallelanprincess/pseuds/parallelanprincess
Summary: Frankie spends a week introducing Astranova to Monster High. In the meantime, Jackson and Holt are going to have deal with the mess that is their personal life.





	Tracing Her Way Through the Constellations

When the girls come back with Astranova in tow, Jackson isn't even mildly surprised. Headmistress Bloodgood doesn't blink when Astra floats up the front steps of the school. The fearleading squad is in perfect form as they formally welcome the newest 'exchange student.' It seems a bit silly considering they've known her for a week but Cleo is a stickler for tradition. There's the standard routine with a rhyming greeting and few flips for good measure. Frankie's limbs stay attached and Draculaura doesn't drop Lagoona.

He takes that as a good omen.

Jackson claps with everybody else when the squad finishes. Astra's eyes light up with excitement. She's just trying to enroll for classes and everyone's treating her like the guest of honor. It's not everyday a mystical comet from Egyptian mythology turns out to be a spaceship with a busted navigation system. Frankie takes Astra by the hand, she's more than ready to show the newcomer around. Despite being two years old, Frankie still treats each day as an adventure and every new discovery as groundbreaking. It's no surprise she's the head of the welcoming committee. He wants to ask her about Boo York, about Cleo's failed engagement and that mysterious rapper. Except Jackson knows how Frankie is. She won't be satisfied until Astra's fully integrated into Monster High.

It's going to be a long, lonely week.

* * *

 

On Tuesday, Frankie introduces them to each other.

“Astra, this is my voltageous boyfriend Holt Hyde,” Frankie says.

Holt has no idea who the ghoul with skin like diamonds is but he shakes her hand anyway. Skin like diamonds is a good name for a song. He's gonna have to remember that later when he's hanging out with Operetta and Catty. Also, she's floating and her eyes remind him of the kaleidoscopes he used to play with as a kid.

“Nice to meet you, bootiful. Where have you been all my unlife?” Holt asks.

When in doubt, use your charm. It's a good thing Frankie isn't the jealous type. Does Frankie even know how to be jealous? Surely, Cleo must have introduced the concept of it at some point. After all, the princess always gave Rochelle the side eye whenever she spent too much time with Deuce. Ghouls were weird. Then again, Holt feels some kind of way whenever that Andy kid starts staring at Frankie like she hung the moon. Technically he's only attracted to her head. Apparently the Steins got it from his long lost love or something. Okay, now was not the time to think about where Frankenfine got her bits and pieces from.

“I am from the planet Lazuli-12 in the Andromeda Galaxy.” Astra's voice is monotone and digitized like one of those iCoffins that talk back to you. She literally speaks in autotune. Holt is definitely going to have to collaborate with her before the semester is over. Frankie wants him to play nice after all. His ghoulfriend just wants everybody in the whole world to be besties. She'd traveled the world, fought all kinds of wackos and still believed things could be rainbows and sunshine.

Was it naivety or false hope?

Too deep. Time to change the subject.

“How about I take you two out of this world ghouls to the Coffin Bean so we can get better acquainted?”

Jackson can pay for it. Dad gives him more allowance anyway. Besides, not like he warned Holt that Frankie had somehow gotten a new alien BFF who was totally going to be on his next mixtape.

* * *

 

 

On Thursday, his wallet is empty and he has three missed calls.

Waking up on the floor of his bedroom is the worst thing ever. The only thing sparing him from the cold carpet is a pile of Holt's dirty laundry. Would it kill him to use a hamper every once in a while? Jackson's starving and according to his phone he's already an hour late for school. No time for breakfast. If Mom hadn't left for work yet, he could catch a ride.

Jackson takes the shortest shower of all time, just enough to get rid of the smell of sweat and underwear. He needs to pick up a box of hair dye during the weekend because his blonde streaks are fading. He gargled mouthwash to get rid of the faint taste of alcohol lingering in his mouth. Holt has so much to explain that it's not even funny.

Jackson's life is a cruel joke.

Where is his clean sweater vest?

In roughly twenty minutes, he's ready for school. He puts his ear to his bedroom door before he ventures out. There's no sound of arguing or plates being thrown so Dad must have left already. Jackson walks to the living room and finds Mom sleeping on the couch in full on Hyde mode. The TV's playing some infomercial about teeth whitening strips for vampires. An empty pizza box lies on the coffee table next to a bottle of whiskey. Guess the Hyde family decided to have some quality time together.

Jackson could skip school if he wanted. He has a vague feeling he needs to be there for something important. Something involving Astra. Or maybe he just has homework due and doesn't want Mr. Rotter on his ass. Taking the bus is out of the question because somebody decided to blow Jackson's allowance on Einstein knew what.

He decides to check his iCoffin for any clues about whether or not he should crawl back into bed. All the missed calls were from last night. And from Frankie. Oh, Hades.

_Hi Jackson! We found you wandering near graveyard last night so Draculaura took you home. You were really disoriented so you might not remember. Sleep tight! I love you! Bye._

Well, that explained absolutely nothing. Frankie truly was a creature of infinite patience. He didn't deserve a ghoulfriend who was nonchalant about his condition. His parent's marriage was more cracked than a broken mirror. They probably still loved each other a lot but...Jackson stared at his “mother” snoring contently on the couch. He supposed he was looking at his future.

Two messages remaining.

 

* * *

 

On Monday, he eats lunch with Heath and Deuce.

Deuce recounts the misadventure in Boo York and Jackson halfway listens. The DeNiles are royally dysfunctional. Ramses almost makes Dad seem like a saint in comparison. He makes a point to avoid making eye contact with Heath. They've never been close and going to the same school hasn't done much to change that. He notices the way Heath used to cringe whenever someone pointed out that he was related to a normie. Heath sits on the opposite side of the classroom during Mad Science, a shame since he's failing that class spectacularly. Jackson isn't offended.

Heath Burns has a reputation for being one of the most clingy, glory seeking students that Monster High can offer. From his failed attempts at flirting to his absymal grades, Heath isn't so much the class joke as he is the laughingstock of their year. No, Jackson doesn't need his approval. He's dating Frankie and that gives him more than enough social capital. And comfort. And help he so desperately needs.

“How's Viperine?” Jackson asks interrupting Deuce's monologue about how much he hates Cleo's older sister.

Deuce's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Jackson assumes that his slit-like pupils are widening behind those dark shades. The question might seem random but if they're going to talk about families...Deuce's mother must be at least millennia old. The gorgon insists she's not the Medusa of myth in the same tone that Cupid uses when she's swearing she's not really from Olympus. At least Cupid is honest about her age. Deuce is more talented at Ancient Greek then any sixteen year old has any right to be.

“She's good. She and Honey have been going steady for awhile. I mean, three months is a new record. Aunt Stheno is already planning the wedding. Wouldn't be surprised if the next family reunion turned into a bridal shower,” Deuce sighs.

There aren't a lot of male gorgons so Deuce grew up with tea parties, games of dress up, and crying over soap operas. It makes sense that he became an excellent cook and managed to keep the most high maintenance ghoul on the planet happy.

“Guess that means she's off the market, huh?” Heath jokes.

Deuce's hand flies to his shades. For a moment, Jackson wonders if he's going to stone Heath. Whatever impulse he has quickly fades, Deuce settles for having one of his snakes nip at Heath's face.

“ _Anyway,_ ” Deuce says, rapidly changing the subject.“How have you been, man? Holt's been around a lot more often lately. What's up with that?” His mohawk stares at Jackson with concern. A snake stretches out to gentle lick him on the side of his face. The numbness in Jackson's cheek makes him think the saliva might be mildly poisonous.

“My parents are fighting again. Mom's Hyde side cheated on Dad again and they're thinking about getting divorced. Holt's...better at dealing with stuff like that.” Jackson's a coward. He's only human unlike the rest of the Monster High student body. Fear is a natural response to confrontation and uncertainty. It's a simple matter of biology that monster's are more equipped to handle screaming and drunken rants. Jackson makes sure that their grades are good enough to stay in school, the least Holt can do is take the heat every once in awhile. He never asked for any of this.

“I know how that goes. My old man's still chillin' at the family temple on Petros. He and Mom have been 'separated' for like ever. The only reason they never took it to court was 'cuz Mom would have cleaned him out. He's dating some siren or whatever,” Deuce replies. Heath looks like he's about to say something stupid but Deuce kicks him in the shin.

“I get he's your uncle and stuff but Jackson's your bro. Bros trump uncles every day of the week man.”

Jackson's thanks whatever guardian deity is watching over him that he has such a good friend like Deuce. Clawd was great at pep talks but wolf packs tended to be extremely close knit. Family dysfunction simply didn't compute. Then again, Deuce spent so much time navigating Cleo's twisted family dynamics that he probably had a lot of practice with pushy relatives.

 

* * *

 

He spends most of Wednesday recovering from a long night of partying.

One minute he's leaving school, the next he's waking up in an abandoned warehouse. He's covered in glitter and the sun is shining in through the cracks in the boarded up windows. It doesn't matter if he was guest or the main event the cops are going to show up sooner or later and there is no way in Hell he's begging Draculaura for bail money again. Jackson stumbles out the front door and into a field. The position of the sun suggests it's almost noon. No point in going to school this late.

He resists the urge to collapse among the weeds.

He does not resist the urge to puke into the weeds.

A quick check of his phone reveals that it's almost lunchtime back at Monster High. He texts Ghoulia his coordinates, situation, and need for aspirin.

_Understood. I will send Astra to you. Keep an eye on the skies, she is traveling by UFO. Do you wish for me to alert Frankie?-G_

_**Plz don't. She'll just get worried. Astra is the alien right? The one you picked up in Boo York?** _

_Affirmative. She has already made Holt's acquaintance. I have informed her that examining you is prohibited. Unfortunately Astra is the only one available. Are you going home or coming to school?_

_**E.T. Phone Home** _

 

* * *

 

Friday is date night. One of the cemeteries is having a Scarantino movie marathon. Frankie's never seen any of his movies. Frankie still hasn't seen a lot of things. Sometimes it feels like she's making up for lost time with all the traveling she does. Bloodgood finally named her as the official ambassador for Monster High. The title is more a formality than anything. Most of the monster world is aware of the teenage homunuculus redefining what it means to be truly monstrous. She's going to be a legend one of the days. The kind whose name is whispered in dark alleys and bright museums. She's the sunlight come to save a world that's gotten a bit too dark.

And she loves you.

She can have any man, any manster she wants but she settled for you, something that both and neither.

“I'm so happy you came,” Frankie says. You're sitting on a picnic blanket in a field surrounded by other couples, families, and a few zombies who've crawled out of their graves to see what all the fuss is about. She's holding your hand. You run a finger across the stitch that connects her ring finger to her palm.

“I'm happy that you decided to bring me.” It's true. She should be here with someone else, anyone else. Someone worthy.

“Don't be silly. You're my boyfriend! What kind of ghoul has date night without her best manster? Besides, I've been so busy this week I felt bad we didn't get to spend more time together.” She's pouting and you feel like you could die happy if that was the last thing you ever saw.

“You're the greatest ghoul in the world.” You lean in for a kiss. Her cold lips brush against yours. She smells like formaldehyde and methanol, the sweetest scent on the planet. You kiss her tenderly and run your tongue across her lips. Her hair caresses your cheek and you can feel her arms wrapping around you. Getting arrested for public indecency is the last thing on your mind.

When you feel her pull away it's like a punch to the gut.

“I love you. Both of you. Forever and ever and even after that.”

“We love you too.”

You aren't sure when the opening credits started rolling. There's a good chance things might end badly. Someone is definitely going to die before all is said and done. For now, you're content to lay your head in Frankie's lap and enjoy the show. High in the sky you see Astra's ships fly by in the direction of the Cleo's place. Past is present. Frankie is your future. Everything's probably going to be okay.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was halfway finished for MONTHS before I found it on my hard drive and finished it. Poor Jackson & Holt's life is suffering. Remember to comment and kudos! I'm glad about the positive reception to this series. I've been following the reboot series and well, it does seem like we'll be getting good writing and animation at the very least which is a great. IF anyone wants me to do stuff for that verse let me know.


End file.
